East African countries should brace themselves for a second round of invasion by the desert locusts in the next one to two months, Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture has warned.

Swarming locusts are famous for their destructive potential. Currently, locust outbreaks in East Africa are threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers and their families. For instance, a recent swarm in Kenya consumed more than 2,000 tons of food.

It's become an all-too-common tale: An introduced insect takes hold in a new home and then spreads, wreaking havoc with ecosystems and economies. Take, for instance, the emerald ash borer, an Asian beetle first spotted in North America in 2002; researchers estimate it has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees and caused more than $10 billion in damage.

A locust plague up to 20 times larger than a wave two months earlier is threatening to devastate parts of East Africa.

Every day, our inbox buzzes with alerts from an unfolding crisis. The reports—heralding a humanitarian crisis and giving voice to increasing desperation among those that we serve—are alarming. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation is likely to worsen still.

The Horn of Africa is facing the worst locust invasion in 70 years, threatening regional food security, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

For African countries like Kenya and Somalia, 2020 has brought some of the worst locust outbreaks in over fifty years.

Several countries in East Africa – namely Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan – are still trying to contain the worst desert locust invasion the region has experienced in over 70 years.

The Northern Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa recently experienced their longest drought in 100 years.

The Northern Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa recently experienced their longest drought in 100 years.

Farmers in the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape Karoo are struggling to control the locust swarms that have damaged and consumed thousands of hectares of grazing land.

The locust swarms that have damaged and devoured thousands of hectares of grazing in the Karoo and parts of the Sarah Baartman area have now moved into the Amathole district.